Closing Night in Kuala Terengganu

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In the afternoon….It was a quarter to six….

I sat in the front seat on the left when Bas KITē slowly left the Tamadun Islam Park complex. Via the only connecting bridge, Bas KITē completed its wheel loop over Wan Man Island.

Only me….
The driver.

Now the Bas KITē would complete the remaining half of the journey to the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu, when I got there, the bus would take a break to operate again tomorrow at half past ten in the next morning.

On the way back to the inn, I was more relaxed and free to talk with the driver. During the rest of the trip, he told about his daily activities with four other Bas KITē drivers in operating that special city bus. He also told about his son who was having a hard time finding work in Kuala Terengganu, many employment sectors chose to use foreign workers which made it difficult for residents to find a livelihood. I only listened to it as a form of empathy, even though I didn’t know the real facts.

On the way back to the inn, the bus driver only took a middle-aged female passenger who seemed to be very familiar with him. Maybe the woman was a subscriber to his Bas KITē, so as soon as she got on, the driver immediately familiarly asked about the woman’s activities throughout the day. The rest after the female passenger boarded, only the two of them had the dominant conversation until the trip was over. The conversation with Terengganu’s thick accent I tried to understand even though I could only absorb it a little.

At a quarter past six I arrived at the Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu….

Jumping off the bus and thanking the Bas KITē driver once again for giving me five precious minutes to enjoy the beauty of the Crystal Mosque, I tried to leave the terminal as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to be trapped in the dark in the terminal.

I swiftly walked through Masjid Abidin Street to arrive at the intersection where the PERMINT Tower stood. “What’s that sound?…”, I stopped when I heard a noise from a height. Due to that sound, I backed off from the inn. I was now walking along Sultan Ismail Street towards the source of the sound. “Wow….That’s a flock of sparrows”, I knew now. On the entire face of the Wisma PERMINT building, perched a lot of sparrows calling to each other, making the sound like a pleasant harmony to be heard at sunset.

For so long I was stunned, capturing and videoing the scene that two other tourists suddenly came next to me and did the same. After a while of enjoying the harmony of the sound of the sparrows, simultaneously the street lamps began to come on, and the building lights began to be turned on, making the path along Sultan Ismail Street show off the beauty of its colorful lights.

“Looks like I have to enjoy my closing night in Kuala Terengganu by being on the streets even if only for a moment”, I decided.

My night exploration step started from the KT Walk which was a spacious area that usually presents a night market view for residents. It was just that the night has just begun, and a row of new food stalls was getting ready to entertain their prospective guests who would arrive soon. Because there were no significant activities, I just enjoyed the KT Walk for a moment from a corner of the field.

Enjoying the choir of sparrows at Wisma PERMINT.
The front side of KT Walk.
SiThe quiet side of KT Walk.i.

The night was creeping up and the lights were starting to look more dazzling as the sky darkened. I continued to comb along Sultan Ismail Street and then was stunned at a bookstore that seemed to be the favorite bookstore in the city, SMO Bookstores. “There’s nothing wrong if I go in …”, I idly started.

I rushed into the bookstore. As soon as I entered the shop, I just looked around and visited several bookshelves which were visited by many visitors. “A collection of novels which have been adapted into Malay”, I slightly frowned as a sign that I wasn’t interested in it.

SMO Bookstores isn’t as big as a well-known bookstore brand in Indonesia, the collection isn’t much, but many people visit it. Maybe Malaysia’s good literacy rate makes it so.

I finally left SMO Bookstores and resumed my journey to enjoy the night atmosphere of Kuala Terengganu. Although not too crowded, that night was able to make me a little amazed because, during the two days in Kuala Terengganu, I was more dominant in enjoying the atmosphere of the day. Even though the sparkling lamp that night wasn’t as beautiful as in Kuala Lumpur, it still kept its charm. A city that wasn’t so crowded was showing its beauty at night.

I turned at the corner at the northern end of Air Jernih Street, which was still doing business. Walking along the street, I stopped again at a 7-Eleven, I purposely entered it to look for fast food on my dinner menu. I felt like I have been reluctant to go back a little further to visit “Kedai Kak Na” which I visited that afternoon. It was better to just look for perfunctory food at the mini market.

I came out of the 7-Eleven with a packet of fried rice that had been heated in the microwave for a while. I immediately left the minimarket to the inn while enjoying the remaining scenery. Continuing a little step on Kota Lama Street, I turned left on Engku Pangeran Anom 2 Street and then arrived at the inn, The Space Inn…

Engku Pangeran Anom, who is it?

Engku Pangeran Anom was a Terengganu noble with the full name Pengiran Anum Engku Abdul Kadir bin Engku Besar. He was a man who really understood the history of Terengganu and was often a reference to the sultanate which at that time was led by Sultan Ahmad.

I arrived at the inn at exactly half past eight….

It was time for me to wash up, have dinner, fold the clothes and tidy up my backpack because tomorrow I would leave Kuala Terengganu at half past ten in the morning.

Wisma Maidam was towering on Sultan Ismail Street which was used for the Kuala Terengganu Islamic Bank office.
The intersection that I often pass every day while in Kuala Terengganu.
Umobile Center (Telecommunication Equipment Store) on Engku Sar Street. Engku Sar refers to the name of the father of Engku Pengiran Anom whose full name is Syed Abdullah Al-Idrus. “Sar” is another name for “Sir”.
Aneka KAMDAR Building on Kota Lama Street is used as an ASC (Arena Sports Center) which is a Sports Venue business in Kuala Terengganu.
Let’s sleep!…. It was 11 p.m.….Tomorrow I would walk again.

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BAS KITē ….Kuala Terengganu’s Mainstay City Bus

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After washing jeans, t-shirts and socks, I took a bath. Made my body fresh and repel shabby. “It’s still too early to sleep, I’d better hang out in the shared-kitchen to fill my water bottles which are starting to recede”, my idea suddenly appeared.

I started downstairs to the second floor where the reception desk and shared-kitchen were located. Arriving there, looked the presence of Mr. Okamoto who slowly brewed the coffee.

“Where was you going today, Mr. Okamoto?” I asked before he smiled as I poured tap water into my drink bottles.

“Hi Donny, I didn’t go everywhere today. I was tired. I decided to take a rest all day in my room”, he chuckled while sipping his own brewed coffee.

“Ohhhhh…..I think you have found a nice destination today….Hahahaha. I see you are very fresh now”, I hasten to sit in front of him and continue the conversation.

Somehow in the beginning, Mr. Okamoto told many things that night….From the charming story of Okinawan culture, memories of drinking coffee with local Acehnese, the behavior of Japanese girls in modern times, the cuteness of a student from Yogyakarta, as well as the ups and downs of being an English teacher at his capital city.

Meanwhile, I added a little story about my adventure to visit Japan three years ago, exploring Terengganu on the first day that afternoon until my plan to explore Middle East a few days ahead.

The specialty of the conversation was a cup of coffee brew made by Mr. Okamoto for me.

Wow…. Arabica coffee was still imagined to be enjoyed until now.

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That Monday morning, I accidentally woke up a little late. After the Fajr prayer, I went back to sleep and just woke up at exactly nine in the morning. After bathing, I have breakfast by sipping oat powder that I brought from home, I served the powder in hot water and mixed it with a spoonful of sugar in the inn’s kitchen.

Twenty minutes later I finished breakfast, I started to go downstairs to the first floor and got ready to continue exploring. Looking at the sky, it looked like my second day in Kuala Terengganu would be as hot as yesterday. I stepped through Engku Pengiran Anom 2 Street to reach Air Jernih Street which if pulled straight north would take me to Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

The bus terminal was still my ally in dissecting the beauty of Kuala Terengganu. At least I knew where to go all Monday.

Oh yes, back to the story a day before, when I arrived at the bus terminal after being escorted by myBAS from Sultan Mahmud Airport, I took a moment to get closer to the BAS KITē stop. I deliberately documented the bus route which is the transportation mode of Kuala Terengganu residents’ mainstay. I had monitored the existence of BAS KITē itself from Jakarta two months before departure.

I got in the BAS KITē
Tasting the BAS KITē…
This was the first route I took.
I couldn’t go up this route, I’m sorry….
Well, Route C02 was the last route I took.

Well, if you went to Kuala Terengganu and wanted to save on costs in exploring the city, then BAS KITē was the best solution. After all, instead of taking a taxi everywhere…. It was expensive.

Let’s see what was a BAS KITē.

According to the results of my conversation with the BAS KITē driver when going to the Crystal Mosque, there were only five buses in Kuala Terengganu, and the drivers were only five people. But on the route board which I managed to photograph, BAS KITē turned out to only have four routes….Hmmm, maybe one unit was a spare bus….Ah, I didn’t know, what were you thinking anyways?

The uniqueness of this city bus lies in its design. When viewed from the outside, the body of this city bus resembles the architecture of a typical Terengganu house. The bus’ glass is designed like an arched window, while the bus’ roof is given a distinctive touch of Terangganu’s carved. While at bus inside, seats and dividing area between driver and passengers are dominated by iron and wood combination, full of Terengganu carvings.

This city bus with a capacity of 36 passengers is operated by Cas Ligas SDN. BHD whose office is in PERMINT Tower, the tower I passed by many times every day when I explored Kuala Terengganu. Cas Ligas SDN. BHD itself is a land and water transportation business in Kuala Terengganu.

To be able to take this city bus to various tourist destinations, you have to prepare a fare ranging from 1 to 5 Ringgit depending on the distance. Cheap right?…..

The city bus which departed the earliest was BAS KITē for Kuala Nerus (direction to the airport but doesn’t stop at the airport if you want to go to the airport just use the myBAS service). That route departed at exactly half past eight in the morning and departs at an interval of 1.5 hours before noon and then departs at intervals of 2 hours when it is past noon. The last bus departs at half past five in the afternoon from Hentian Bas Majlis Kuala Terengganu Airport.

Meanwhile, the city bus which departs at noon is the KITē BAS towards Crystal Mosque. This BAS KITē route first departs at 9:30 am and only provides four trips a day. The last trip departs at five in the afternoon from Hentian Bas Majlis Kuala Terengganu Airport.

Cheap but limited.

With an average distance of two hours for each departure, at least I could visit at least three destinations in different routes. “Enjoy it, don’t be in a hurry….”, that’s how I thought about its limitations.

To keep the mood happy….Yes, right?

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Moored at Kedai Payang Market

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“I’m not from India, I’m from Iran”, the bunk bed neighbor’s traveler answered my question.

“Do you know where is a middle eastern salon near here?. I think I need a salon for relaxation”, he suddenly asked the receptionist and hotel owner.

I inwardly laughed at that “funny” scene that morning, a light conversation before I set out to explore Kuala Terengganu for the first time since arriving.

I rushed down the stairs to get out of The Space Inn, along Engku Pengiran Anom 2 Street, heading north, repeating the original way when heading to the inn. Of course, I went back to Air Jernih Street, met again at the intersection where Politectic Kuala Terengganu became a landmark besides PMINT Tower and retraced Masjid Abidin Street until I arrived back in east side of Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.

The east side of Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu.
Rows of Interstate Bus ticket counters.
So here it was…. The tree just got “dressed up”……

It was just that, two hundred meters before arriving at bus terminal, I was fascinated by the art of yarn bombing which pinned colorful knitted threads to a row of trees in a side of Masjid Abidin Street’ sidewalk, right on the west side of PB Square. Make the city atmosphere more lively.

Arriving at bus terminal, I immediately struggled to find an Interstate Bus ticket to go to Kuala Lumpur the day after tomorrow.

“There are even cheaper ones, Sir?”, I joked at an Arowana Bus ticket counter staff.

“Nothing…. It’s only 43 Ringgit, Sir…. this is the cheapest”.

“Okay, I’ll take one, Sir …. For the date of 31st”.

A few minutes ago, I had secured a ticket to Kuala Lumpur, now I was a little calmer to start exploring my first destination.

Yupsz, I was going to Kuala Terengganu’s market.

That market is only a kilometer from Hentian Bas Majlis Bandaraya Kuala Terengganu, so I decided to just walk. I slowly enjoyed the crowds around Kampung Daik Street, under the shade of roofed corridor along sidewalk, what a comfortable way to walk. My steps also had to turn right in front of Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat Jalan Kota’s Office, which were identical in color to the fire brigade offices in Jakarta (my hometown), bright red.

Now I felt reluctant to continue swinging steps due to the scorching heat of sun in the path in front of me that wasn’t longer covered. Finally, I decided to take a break at the end of covered corridor, sitting in a concrete bench, waiting for the cloud to cover the sun.

Kuala Terengganu fire department.

A few moments of waiting while enjoying the passing of local residents, the cloud was present, now the street didn’t sting anymore, I immediately took a quick step down Sultan Zainal Abidin Street. Finally, two hundred meters ahead, I arrived at Kedai Payang Market which was starting to get busy.

The Kedai Payang Market dis seem to show off its beauty, it was said that the two-year-old building functions to replace the old building that had retired.

Rows of tents with white cloth roofs stretched across market’s face, separating the parking area from commercial area. The large tents showed that  market’s interior area wasn’t enough to facilitate the bustling commerce in downtown Kuala Terengganu.

Now I’ve entered market inside which was very crowded, the stalls with red brick motifs still looked new, the alleys seemed full of visitors passing by. Several clowns and pet equipment sellers were seen cramming into several corners of stalls selling songket, batik, handicrafts and traditional snacks from Terengganu. While in the back area, it appeared that a special area was provided for a row of culinary stalls with a mainstay menu of Nasi Dagang, Laksa, Nasi Lemak and several other specialties.

Kedai Payang Market back view.
The market front.
Market atmosphere.
Rows of clothing stalls.
Culinary stalls behind the market.
Come on, first enjoy the beauty of Terengganu River!

I just kept going until I reached its backyard. Apparently that market is right on the outskirts of very clean Terengganu River. Bot Penambang (Passenger Boats) could be seen moving back and forth to mobilize Terengganu residents from a bank to another. The Bot Penambang (Passenger Boat), which is relied upon as the city’s water taxi, seems to have originalized the atmosphere of Terengganu that morning.

The beauty of the expanse of Terengganu River finally started to make me fall in love with that city and managed to tame me to just linger for a while enjoying the gentle breeze in a concrete gazebo which is part of public facilities belonging to Pasar Kedai Payang.

“Don’t be in a hurry, Donny….Sit down and enjoy”.

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